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12 Comments
Dec 10, 2013
If you don’t file your past year taxes you may not receive your 2014 tax refund!
Filing past year taxes is super important for a variety of reasons. After all, if you were required to file in the past and never did, you can face fines and even serious charges!
The Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Wait To File Prior Late Taxes:
1. The IRS can hold onto your current year tax refund
If the IRS sent you a notice about needing to file for prior years, when you file current year taxes, the IRS will hold the tax refund until you meet your prior year obligations. This means, you have to file the prior years and pay the obligations for those years.
2. Your current year refund will be delayed if you haven’t file prior year returns.
3. There is a late filing tax penalty that increases with time along with a a failure-to-pay penalty. The failure-to-file penalty, which is a tax on filing late is higher than the failure-to-pay penalty. The failure-to-file penalty is normally 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month the tax return is late. This starts the day after the tax filing deadline date.
4. The failure to file is serious (and more serious than the failure to pay). It’s better to file late and not pay than to not file and not pay.
5. The IRS accepts many forms of payment. Low on cash and afraid of the tax you might owe? No worries, the IRS now accepts credit cards, making the process to pay more “possible” for you.
6. You only have three years to collect previous year tax refunds. The IRS Statute of Limitations allows three years from the original deadline of the tax return for you to collect your tax refund. That means if you are waiting around to file your 2010 taxes, stop waiting, the deadline to receive your refund for 2011 is April 15, 2015.
7. Peace at Mind. If you are aware of it or not, not filing prior year taxes is somewhere in the back of your mind, looming around and subconsciously stressing you out. Getting past year taxes filed will feel like a weight off your shoulders.
I’m Scared to File My Past Year Taxes
Filing prior year taxes can seem stressful and it might seem better to just put if off. Don’t wait any longer! Filing past taxes is not as bad as you think and regardless of how much tax you may owe for past years, it’s better to file and owe than to not file and have the IRS possibly garnish your wages! If you are worried because you can’t pay the IRS the taxes, don’t let this stop you from filing. The IRS will set up a payment plan with you.
How Can I File My Late Taxes?
If you have prior year returns that need to be filed from 2005-2013, PriorTax offers an easy to use online process to get the late taxes off your to do list. If you taxes before 2005 you want to file, you won’t be able to online.
You can get started filing prior year taxes online now with PriorTax and have your past year taxes organized before the 2015 tax season arrives!
Photo via JGTaxGroup on Flickr
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12 Responses to “Why You Should File Past Year Tax Returns Now”
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Comments(12)
Lisa
Jun 26, 2014
My tax refund is always held because my Student Loans are in default. I have several years of past taxes that I am filing 1 at a time. I will qualify for a refund, with each one. I want to apply each year’s refund to the next year’s estimated tax (I am self employed). My hope is that, by the time I get to the current year’s return, I will be able to make an arrangement with Student Loans and be able to receive my refund for 2013. Is there any chance, in theory, that this could work?
admin
Jun 30, 2014
Hi Lisa,
Keep in mind that you are only eligible to claim your refund up to three tax years after that specific tax year deadline. Therefore, I would suggest filing more than one year at a time (depending on how behind you are in filing). As far as arranging something specifically with your student loan lenders, you may need to speak with them directly.
John
May 6, 2015
They gave me a date to file my 2010 taxes this year before I could receive this year refund I completed it didn’t owed anything how long do I have to wait until I get refund
admin
May 11, 2015
Hi John,
It is always a good thing to file prior year tax returns so that they don’t affect you claiming a current year refund. Now that you have completed both, your refund should be issued within 21 days from the submission date. You can always check the status of your refund using the IRS “Where’s My Refund” tool as well.
Kd
Feb 6, 2016
I owe nothing. Yet received a1091online at wmr and a 203 code. I did not file in 2014 because i did not work. Why is my money being taken? I have no offsets. No child support.
admin
Feb 22, 2016
Hi KD,
If you believe that you received this code in error, then you should contact the U.S. Department of the Treasury. There contact information can be found using the link HERE. This code typically applies to a debt in childcare, unemployment or a past tax debt. You should receive a notice in the mail with the reasoning explained, however, you can contact them prior to receiving the letter.
Concerned
Dec 1, 2016
Mine and my husbands student loans are now out of default. We haven’t filed 2015 taxes yet because of the default. We don’t owe any taxes and will receive a significant refund. It is November 30, 2016. Can I paper file now and have any hope of a refund in the month of December?
admin
Dec 2, 2016
Good afternoon,
That’s great to hear! It is possible that you could receive your refund by the end of December. However, the IRS states that they take approximately 6 weeks to process an accurately completed past due tax return.
admin
Dec 2, 2016
Good afternoon,
That’s great to hear! It is possible that you could receive your refund by the end of December. However, the IRS states that they take approximately 6 weeks to process an accurately completed past due tax return.
admin
Dec 2, 2016
Good afternoon,
That’s great to hear! It is possible that you could receive your refund by the end of December. However, the IRS states that they take approximately 6 weeks to process an accurately completed past due tax return.
tmack
Feb 9, 2017
i owed 2014 taxes which i was paying on but ended up not keeping up with the payment arrangement. I didn’t file my 2015 taxes because i knew I owed so i blew it off. now my 2016 taxes are worth a refund and i want to file. do I have to file my 2015 before filing my 2016 taxes or can i file my 2016 taxes, get the return and then file my 2015 taxes ?
admin
May 2, 2017
You will be able to file both 2015 and 2016 returns to send it to the IRS. However, the IRS can hold your refund amounts until your tax liability is paid off.